This week’s Out in the Bay features Stereotypes‘ third episode, “The Bishop & The Bulletproof Vest,” which examines the relationship between religion and LGBTQ people. Beale gets into it with Lutheran Bishop Megan Rohrer, the USA’s first openly transgender bishop of a major denomination.
It’s an in-depth conversation augmented with music, sound from Rohrer’s bishop installation in San Francisco's Grace Cathedral in September, and a smattering of homophobic, transphobic voices from other churches.
Rohrer calmly explains, among other things, that “there’s a lot more gender diversity in scripture than grumpy people might point out” and that “you can’t ever have a debate that’s going to change someone’s mind if what they have is a feeling.”
We finish our half-hour with the title track of Bay Area musician Marilyn Mitchell‘s new album, Lives Aligned. Mitchell was lead guitarist of “all transgender girl rock band Lipstick Conspiracy” – in her Bandcamp page‘s words – for eight years. She’s now lead guitarist of tribute band Nott the Hoople. We hope to have her on Out in the Bay for a full interview and more of her music soon.
Year-end request: Please help us keep bringing LGBTQ news, voices and stories to the world by making a tax-deductible donation to Out in the Bay now. We’ve been promised $1,500 from an anonymous donor if we get that much from other donors by January 1st. Out in the Bay is an independent, non-profit production relying on listener support. We receive no funding from KALW, NPR, nor podcast platforms. Thank you!